Is anxiety rooted in my genes?

[adamm]

Hi,
I am new to this section. I usually posted in the face blushing section as this was my main problem for the past 10 years. I had suffered from severe facial blushing since I was 12 years old.

I have cured almost 100% of my blushing. I was always ambitious and mentally strong, I promised myself to never let myself take medication and I was strong for years. I felt like taking medicatiom = giving up.

I exercise regularly, eat healthy meditate, study paychology and self development and thats how I cured my facial blushing and most of my anxiety. But the problem is my anxiety is still there. Symptoms such as heart palpitations are gone, but my short term memory is getting worse and worse because of stress and I feel like I've done everything I could to get better.

My mother and grandmother also suffered from facial blushing, anxiety and a bit od OCD. My mum went through exactly the same things as me, so it seems like all the anxieties were past to me through genes and they will always be there. I had anxieties since I was a little kid.

I just don't know what to do. I could accept my anxiety and live like that, but stress really affects my short term memory and learning abilities. On the other hand medication has side effects too and people are saying it only masks the problem. I would be greatful if you could share your thoughts.

 

[SilentAndShy]

I'm not sure how my Mum was when she was my age but I do feel I've inherited some of her lack of assertiveness, confidence etc. My dad's the polar opposite but I think I've gone worse maybe of my own doing and life situation.

 

[Odo]

I am a pretty big believer in the genetic thing... my dad's side of the family is notoriously anxious and/or unstable.

But it could also be attributed to behaviors passed down through emulation.

 

[BlackPuma]

There may be genetic tendency, which is stronger in some than others, but more often than not the behavioural conditioning necessary for consistent anxiety is passed down via a parents own anxiety during early childhood.

Children appropriate their parents behaviour and outlooks, so it stands to reason when parents or role models exhibit anxiety, it can be taught to new generations subconsciously several times over with it seeming deeply and entirely rooted in genetics.

That said, without a study looking into your family's genetics, it's impossible to land on a concrete conclussion. It very well could be rooted in genetics, but I'd strongly recommend to assume that it's not.

 

[adamm]

After writing this post and 10 years of suffering I think I finally found out what is happening to me...After learning how to control my anxieties, somehow I still felt bad. I decided to do a research of how Prozac works and I found out it is about controlling dopamine.

So I researched symptoms of having low dopamine, and I have almost all of them including migraines, very strong sugar addiction and memory problems.

Yesterday I researched if it is possible to raise dopamine through diet and it can be done. I bought walnuts, fish oil, dark chocolate, vitamins B and green tea. It is only a second day and I feel like I am 50% better already.

I think what I inherited was not anxieties, but some 'faults' in my dopamine system.

I'll report back how I am feeling in the next few weeks, maybe more of you have similar problem!!!

 

[bsammy]

I believe my anxiety is deeply rooted in my genes..both of my parents had serious anxiety problems..my sister has anxiety problems but my brother doesn't, it's strange

 

[BlazeBlue]

There's been a research on Social Anxiety and it turns out that anxiety is also genetic. Some people were born pre-disposed to having a more sensitive response to their surroundings. You could read it here and check out the book. If you observe that your mother, grandmother and other close relatives also suffer from anxiety, it is more likely that it's in the gene.

That doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about it. The fact that you worked hard and succeeded in managing your blushing, not to mention you're mentally strong and ambitious, means that you can still live a happy and fulfill life. Sometimes people don't realize their own achievements while they're too focused on the things they haven't achieved. There are definitely mental ways to help you look at yourself in a brighter light, give yourself the credits that you deserve, and be happy with yourself just the way you are. You can read the rest in this article as my post is getting long and I don't want to bore everybody here.

Best wishes!

 

[Holiday]

Anxiety and depression are about 50% genetic. Some people are more genetically predisposed to those disorders, so it is quite likely that it was passed down to you from your family members. Being raised in that environment along with being genetically predisposed to the disorder make you being depressed or having anxiety issues likely. Your children will not necessarily have any issues, but it is possible.

 

[lyricalliaisons]

Possibly. My dad, I just found out that my dad had mental illness after he died. Oddly, he didn't "believe" in mental illnesses.

 

[grapevine]

Well my dad has shyness and his side of the family. And my grandfather on dad's side hardly ever talked.

Yes I think shyness and anxiety and other forms of mentality can def be genetic.

I think also, there is a link to when a mother is pregnant and whether she was worried or emotional at the time- I think there have been some studies that link that to the unborn child's mental health.

But I think one of the biggest factors apart from genetics is our environment.

 

[adamm]

Grapevine- Now you made me think about possible connection between mental health of pregnant woman and a child. I found out many researches suggesting that this is true.

My grandmother was born during the war in 44 in a basement under enormous stress and depression. She could not even go to hospital and almost died. I know she had family problems when she was a teenager and suffered from a lot of anxiety and phobia. She also took antidepressants.

Yesterday when I talked to my mum she said her worst depression and phobia attacks were during pregnancy with me.

Although this story seems really bad it gave me a lot of relief. Some things happened that I can't change and now I will accept myself and stop blaming for not being the way I think 'I should be'.

 

[theslowesthand]

So in summary: genetics, womb, early childhood, upbringing & environment (incl chemical, diet)

I can say with certainty that i was born having very high anxiety. So genetics is definately a thing for me (& others in extended family have had major mental health issues). All the rest have just build on that foundation.

 

[Requiescat]

I completely disagree with genetics an an excuse for SA. There are factors that affect the child in and out of the womb that are far more significant than anything genetic. Were genetics a factor nobody could ever change. Social anxiety is the result of a lack of functionality in skills we learn post-birth, or from a biochemical embalance, or from bad experiences. All of these can be worked on.

 

[adamm]

Requiescat-We are not talking about genetics as an excuse. Like I was saying before, I was trying to fix symptoms of anxiety for many years. I could deal with them very effectively, but I still felt there was something wrong with my wellbeing.

Only after I analyzed what was happening to my mother and grandmother, why certain medication helps them and why I act certain way, I arrived at conclusion that I inherited problems in my dopamine systems. I am now eating foods and taking supplements to naturally raise dopamine levels and trust me, I have never felt more calm.

Although I am not saying anxiety is not a mental problem, but a lot of times anxiety may be a symptom of some other problem, as it was in my case. If I was to continue treating my anxiety symptoms I would never be happy because it was never the main problem. It was biochemical imbalance that was causing all this anxiety. I hope what I'm trying to say makes more sense now.